An individual was reportedly inflicted with a severe impact of parasite infection in Pakistan. The condition was brought by a brain-eating amoeba, an organism technically a type of amoeba but belonged under the phylum Percolozoa.
The brain-eating amoeba already relayed a severe illness to a single person, according to the updates. Unfortunately, a separate individual inflicted with the parasite's condition died before the alarming discovery.
One Dead, Another Critical Due to Amoeba Infection in Pakistan's Sindh Province
Pakistani children fill bottles from a water tank in Islamabad on March 22, 2010, on International World Water Day. World Water Day is held annually on 22 March to focus on the importance of freshwater and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
In a report by the Pakistani outlet The News International, Sindh's health authorities explained that, on May 2, a 30-year-old citizen from the Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi had a critical condition following contact and infection of the single-celled organism known as Naegleria fowleri.
Many experts do not consider Naegleria fowleri as part of larger amoeba groups. However, it belongs to the non-photosynthetic Excavata called Percolozoa. The Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in ground soil and freshwater bodies.
The infection of the Gulistan-e-Jauhar patient was confirmed just one day after the death of a different person, aged 59 years, from Keamari. The person experienced a brain infection brought by the same organism before their passing. This confirms the first death from the condition in 2022.
The Infections that Naegleria fowleri organisms can give to humans are known in medical studies to be always fatal and result in severe brain infection. Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) record, the United States alone had over 150 individuals who were inflicted with the amoeba infection. The records documented between 1962 to 2020 show that only four people survived the disease.
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Naegleria fowleri: Brain-Eating Amoeba That Enters Through Nose, Contaminates Waters
Naegleria fowleri infections occur when the amoeba infiltrates a person's system. Among the recorded cases, the organisms commonly enter people's bodies through the nose. When this happens, the organism then destroys the brain tissues of the patient, leading to a severe infection of the cerebral organ and death.
Newsweek's team requested further details from the Health Department of Sindh regarding the possible instances of how the two patients were infected with the Naegleria fowleri.
According to a report by The News International, there have been approximately 90 individuals who have already died due to the amoeba since 2011. The report said that most cases involve contamination of underground water tanks that might have served as reservoirs for the amoeba.
Moreover, the news outlet explained that the amoeba contamination is a possible effect of the local government's failure to process and clean water supplies given to households in Karachi.
CDC emphasizes that a person could not be infected by simply drinking water containing the organism. However, the infection could start if the amoeba-contaminated waters enter the nose of the victim.
The health agency clarified that the infection caused by the Naegleria fowleri could not be transmitted person-to-person.
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